Lá na gCrann 2012
TREE DAY 2012
‘Dá mbeadh crainn in ann labhairt’
‘If trees could talk!’
Déardaoin, 11 Deireadh Fómhair 2012
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Tree Day 2012 will take place on Thursday, 11th October and the theme for this year is ‘If trees could talk….’ Trees, especially old trees, have many intriguing tales to tell of times past. On Tree Day, schools and families are invited to explore the fascinating stories, the people and events of local, national and world significance that a tree in their locality may have witnessed in its lifetime. The event is organised by the Tree Council of Ireland with the support of the Department of Education & Skills and is sponsored by Tetra Pak, in association with Avonmore.
The official website www.treeday.ie which launched with great success last year, offers all the tools and information to help teachers create a learning experience that will encourage children to embrace and understand the magic, beauty and importance of trees in their communities. The website is classroom friendly and features interactive, curriculum based lessons for the classroom in both Irish and English along with Tree Day school projects, poster downloads, word games, colouring pages and much more. Each year a different native tree is highlighted on Tree Day and this year the focus is on the crab apple tree.
Tree Day’s mascot, Sammy Squirrel, is back this year featuring on the website and on Avonmore school milk cartons which go into many schools around the country. From early September until November, the cartons are carrying a series of seven ‘Tree Teasers’ relating events of significance that our trees have witnessed over the centuries of their existence. These include stories of the 4,300 year old pine tree excavated from the Céide Fields in North Mayo to the Brian Boru Oak in Co. Clare to the Peace Maze at Castlewellan in Co. Down. Teachers and students are directed to the Tree Day website for more information about each of the Tree Teasers.
On Tree Day, many schools also take the opportunity to participate
in guided woodland walks at various locations throughout the country, enabling children to connect directly with nature. The walks are organised in cooperation with Tree Council member organisations including the National Parks & Wildlife Service, Coillte, OPW and the Dublin local authorities. Check out www.treeday.ie for more details.
Getting involved in Tree Day is an excellent way to develop and augment your Green-Schools programme. As well as being complimentary to the biodiversity theme of the programme, for schools that are tackling the litter and waste theme why not collect some acorns or chestnuts on 'Tree Day' and use old containers or cartons and some of your own compost to plant them up. As the proverb says 'great oaks from little acorns grow'.
Check out www.treeday.ie for more details.
THE BIG DRAW 2012 in the National Botanic Gardens.
Come and take a line for a walk in our free 2012 Big Draw event. It’s easy!
Just drop in to the Teak House in the Gardens and draw at any stage throughout the day.
All are welcome. Guided by four tutors. All materials provided.
Last year this was a great success – we are looking forward to seeing you there
Email us at debbie[at]thedrawingworkshop[dot]org for more information.